Voices Debating ideas on social impact

Entrepreneurs are solving complex societal challenges across the globe. It’s happening “at the table” within established organizations, “off the grid” on difficult terrain, and “on the web” in the digital world. Across this spectrum, we often find Millennial entrepreneurs leading the charge.

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Evidence from India suggests that donors should align their interventions with the needs of a particular sector, through a demand-supply analysis. They should also consider prioritizing more indirect, capacity-building interventions.

Social entrepreneurs are testing many ideas about the proper relationship between business and society, some of which may eventually scale up and become standard practice for organizations of all sizes. While the solutions are diverse, most are based on the working assumption that profit and purpose need not conflict.

For at least another generation, most young Africans will work in the informal economy. Governments need to provide young people with basic reading and math skills to enable them to succeed in agricultural and home-based enterprises and perhaps move into the formal sector.